Police ramping up security efforts for July 4

BALTIMORE (AP) — State and local law enforcement agencies are ramping up security efforts this July 4th, deploying officers on foot, in patrol cars, on bicycles and horseback, and in plain clothes in highly trafficked areas of Baltimore.

Col. Darryl Desousa, chief of the patrol unit for the city’s Police Department, says aviation and marine units will also be in full force on Friday to help implement a “zero nonsense policy” in the downtown Baltimore area. In and around the Inner Harbor, where a fireworks display will take place, officers will hand out pamphlets outlining expectations of appropriate conduct, and are prepared to search any package or bag they deem suspicious.

Maryland State Police say checkpoints will be set up across the state, and warned revelers against drunken driving.

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